A Japanese company called "Bird Electron" has new speakers intended for use with the iPod that are handmade from actual gourds.

Gorgeous! Sorry, I just had to. These are in obnoxiously limited quantity. In fact, there are o­nly about 80 being produced.

Bird Electron will resume sales of their completely handmade "Gourd Speakers," which they had previously sold during the "Summer GTF" conducted in August.

These speakers for the iPod have been created from natural gourds of Mito that have been hollowed out, and loaded with 60 phi standard speakers. Their primary attraction is the "naturalness" offered -- the native sounds of Africa, Central & South America, and India can be heard "just like it is." The size is generally 160mm high with a 90mm diameter. As these are natural, the size and shape of the products vary.

There are five types:

-The monaural "EZ-HY" containing o­ne speaker
-A set of two monaural speakers, the "EZ-HY2"
-A set with the  "EZ-HY2" and digital amp, the "EZ-HY2AP"
-A set of two each with a speaker o­n the side, the "EZ-HY2R"
-A stereo type, with two speakers in a single gourd, the "EZ-HYT"

Prices start at 5,460 yen.

While o­nly two or three of these were produced during their initial release in August, Bird Electron has said "we drove to Mito, and found some gourds -- so we've got about 80 now." They have plenty of stock. While the stock of the EZ-HY2R and EZ-HYT has already been depleted, other types still have some stock remaining.

"These are completely just a hobby, and we make them after we get done with work. It's just a hobby, but o­ne of the problems is that we sometimes get tired of choosing, cutting, and hollowing out the insides." (Bird Electron)



Inspired by:
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/articles/0411/12/news090.html

Product Information:
http://www.bird-electron.co.jp/lineup.htm?catalog=OL